REUNIONS

IF THERE’S A TELEVISION ANNIVERSARY, THERE’S GOING TO BE A REUNION

Take Silent Witness (pictured), the long-running BBC drama that first introduced pathologist Sam Ryan, played by Amanda Burton, in 1996. As the series celebrated its 25th season this year, Burton rejoined Silent Witness for the first time since 2004, teaming up with the current cast that includes long-running star Emilia Fox, who plays forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander. As looked at in detail on page 52, another BBC series, Doctor Who, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023, and David Tennant and Catherine Tate are confirmed to be coming back to the show. Meanwhile, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan rejoined Australian soap Neighbours after 30 years away from Ramsay Street. The show was set to come to an end after 37 years on screen, with former stars Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie also returning to the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough for a star-studded finale earlier this summer. But then in November, Amazon’s Freevee announced it had partnered with Australian broadcaster Network 10 to revive the series, which will return to air in 2023.

ACTOR, WRITER AND SINGER-SONGWRITER LECKY IS THE CREATIVE FORCE BEHIND BBC DRAMA MOOD, an unflinching, funny and affecting sixpart series featuring an original soundtrack performed by Lecky herself. Based on her own play, called Superhoe, the series stars Lecky as Sasha, a 25-year-old wannabe singer and rapper who –homeless and forced to fend for herself – finds her way into the dark and intoxicating world of social media influencing. With two songs per episode, music plays an important part in the show as a means to convey Sasha’s thoughts and emotions without needing to say them to another character, while the story also touches on topical themes such as the rise of homelessness, sex work and social media addiction.